indian railways
Indian Railways will not be privatized and the opposition is spreading false propaganda. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav made this statement in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He said the Railways Amendment Bill would not lead to privatization of railways and alleged that some opposition members were spreading false stories in this regard.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 by voice vote after debate. Responding to the debate on the bill, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav lashed out at the opposition and said their false story about Railways will fail, just like the false story about the Constitution.
Dismissal of opposition charges
The Railway Minister said some MPs were making up lies when they said the bill would lead to privatization of railways. I sincerely appeal to him not to do this, his constitutional lie has failed.
The Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 seeks to strengthen the functions and independence of the Railway Board. With the incorporation of the Railway Board under the Railways Act, 1989, the appointment, qualifications, tenure and criteria of the Chairman and members of the Board will be the responsibility of the Central Government. As part of plans to reform rail operations, the bill also includes provisions for the appointment of an independent regulator who will oversee matters such as fare determination and ensure rail competitiveness.
Make a request to send the bill to JPC
Earlier in the debate, opposition members claimed the bill would promote railway privatization and demanded it be sent to the JPC for further review. He also called for the reinstatement of concessions for senior citizens. The Minister of Railways said that our country is a fast-growing economy. Railway capacity needs to be increased. There has been a lack of investment in railways for over 50-60 years.
Ashwini Vaishnav said that after Prime Minister Modi came to power in 2014, the railway budget increased from about 25 to 300 billion rupees to 2.52 billion rupees.
